I watched a bit of a couple of her movies today; TCM showed some of her 1940s movies today including a late '40s one with ROBERT YOUNG as her father (!) which also starred her first real-life husband JOHN AGAR. I think she was lovely and never quite got her due as a mature movie actress. It's always a pleasure to see SHIRLEY TEMPLE in a movie.

I watched a bit of a couple of her movies today; TCM showed some of her 1940s movies today including a late '40s one with ROBERT YOUNG as her father (!) which also starred her first real-life husband JOHN AGAR. I think she was lovely and never quite got her due as a mature movie actress. It's always a pleasure to see SHIRLEY TEMPLE in a movie.

Or, as an ambassador. Not only to the world, but at various times, to both Czechoslovakia and Ghana.

Or, as TV host, where she hosted, for three years, "Shirley Temple's Storybook." I'll tell you, my sister and I had some really knock down, drag out fights over what we'd watch on TV, because "Shirley Temple's Storybook," which she wanted to watch, came on at the same time as "Disneyland," which I wanted to watch. We finally came to sometype of compromise. Anytime that Leslie Nielsen or anything animated appeared on "Disneyland," we'd watch that. Other than that, we'd watch "Shirley Temple's Storybook." Kids.

I'll say one thing for "Shirley Temple's Storybook," the time they did "Rapunzel," it scared the s@#*! out of me. And I still hold it to be one of the scariest TV episodes I have ever seen.

Here's to you Shirley. I raise a shirley temple to you and many more happy birthdays to come.

She grew into such a lovely lady. I still wonder from time to time what "The Wizard of Oz" would have been like if they'd gone ahead and cast her as Dorothy. Lucky for the amazing Judy Garland they didn't,though.

She grew into such a lovely lady. I still wonder from time to time what "The Wizard of Oz" would have been like if they'd gone ahead and cast her as Dorothy. Lucky for the amazing Judy Garland they didn't,though.

THE WIZARD OF OZ was on TCM (again) the other night... I pondered SHIRLEY TEMPLE as Dorothy and who knows if that would have worked better (JUDY's singing really makes that film superior). SHIRLEY was also still kind of awkward in 1939, but no longer impish cute... I think she improved as an actress in her mature roles, and, we apparently concur. She grew into a lovely woman... and always a pleasure to see. I don't think she was a great actress, but certainly a great movie actress!

As for "The Wizard of Oz," how about W. C. Fields as the Wizard instead of Frank Morgan? Buddy Ebsen as the Tinman instead of Jack Haley. I don't know why they went with Morgan instead of Fields, but Ebsen was replaced by Haley, because Ebsen was found to be allergic to the makeup used for the Tinman.